A Debt in Love
by Orange H
Summary: He's the Shadow King. She's the dog. A commoner. A person in debt. It's always been about the money she owes ... hasn't it? But when an accident brings their lives closer than ever, Kyouya might just understand that sometimes, with the right person, there's more to life than just rising to the top- and that their situation is one that he might gain from in a way he'd never expect.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club. Good thing, too, because I can't draw for my life- especially anime!**

**I've just been dying to write a KyoHaru fanfic. Like, honestly. Oh, and I'll tell you right now: I spell his name with a 'u'. Don't complain, or don't read. Read, review, and enjoy!~**

Chapter 1

Haruhi sighed as she walked through the long hallway towards the doors of the third music room. Her footsteps echoed in the hall, the only sound bouncing off the wall. _When did this walk become so normal to me? _she thought, and looked down half expecting to see a path worn where her footsteps had hit the floor so many times in the same place as before. There was, of course, none, and Haruhi braced herself for the burst of excitement that would hit her as she walked through the double doors.

* * *

The theme for the day had been an icy wonderland, where 'love will keep us warm'. The twins had teased Tamaki before the guests had gotten there, calling out his slogan as both cheesy and somewhat perverted. Of course, being the innocent little boy he was, the King had no clue what the twins had meant by 'perverted', and just dubbed them 'little devils' again for calling his slogan overused.

Haruhi had to admit that they had really gone all-out on the theme this time (not that they ever skimped on anything, stupid rich people).With icicles hanging from the ceiling, bits of ice around the floor, and frosty trees imported from Alaska all around the room, she wondered how they had been able to freeze the room so quickly from the day before, which had been yet another kind of tropical paradise. When she asked, the twins chuckled.

"You remember how when you first joined the Host Club we explained that we have a killer heating system?"

Haruhi nodded.

The twins gestured around at the icy room and chorused, "Killer AC!" Haruhi rolled her eyes, shrugged into her parka, and helped her guests into their own various layers of warmth.

A couple of hours later, the majority of the Host Club had left. Tamaki had gone home for (a rare opportunity at) dinner with his father, Hunny and Mori had left for martial arts training with their families, and the twins had needed to rush to a fashion shoot that their mother was having close to the school. Normally Kyouya would have left by now, too, but he still had some paperwork he wanted to get done uninterrupted by his sister rearranging his drawers (her husband was out of town again), and with most of the gang gone it was fairly quiet, with the exception of the Host Club's dog/maid carrying out her regular duties of cleaning up the last of the day's theme, which was difficult with so much ice.

Haruhi sighed. They didn't have a flamethrower (not that she would have used it, lest she damage something else and increase her debt), so she had to sprinkle rock salt all over the ice and wait for it to melt, then mop up the water with towels and throw the towels in a basket to be washed. In the meantime, she had devised a system where she could (kind of) manage to drag the trees out to the stairs of the hallway outside of music room three, to be picked up by the custodians of the school when they came after hours. She had just come back from moving the last tree, and said wearily, "Man, that was... difficult..." she wheezed. Kyouya looked at her over the tips of his glasses.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I suppose", said Haruhi, putting her hands on her knees and bending over to try and catch her breath. "Just... you know... asthma..."

"Ah", Kyouya mused. "Don't you have an inhaler?"

"Yeah, but it's at home... and I only use it in emergencies... I mean, we can afford the medicine but... it's still expensive on Dad's... salary to get more than... I absolutely need..."

"I'd say that you need it now," Kyouya observed as Haruhi sat down on the cold floor, a drop of sweat dripping off her forehead.

"Yeah, well, it's kind of difficult to carry fifteen sixty-or-so pound trees a hundred feet each by yourself", Haruhi coughed, trying to steady her breathing. The dull glare returned to Kyouya's glasses and he continued writing in his black book.

"Ah. Yes. Well, it is, after all, your job."

Haruhi looked up, slightly irritated. "I'm not complaining or anything, just saying it's hard... no need to be harsh..." she told him, her breathing becoming more regular.

"I was not being harsh, simply reminding you that you work for your debt. No need to become hotheaded."

"I'm not hotheaded", Haruhi replied curtly.

"Mmm," Kyouya replied with slight amusement.

"Damn rich people", Haruhi muttered under her breath, having recovered from her asthma, but Kyouya heard her and stood up.

"Good-bye, Haruhi. I'll see you tomorrow."

"What?"

"My work is finished, and my driver is waiting. I'll see you tomorrow when you help set up for our next theme." With this he shut the double doors behind him and strode out of the room, trying to remind himself to keep his temper in check. Ootoris did not become upset over such small matters, he told himself, and let out a small breath that he didn't realize he'd been holding in as he strode down the stairs and out of the building.

Haruhi stared after him for a few seconds in frustration, then sighed and got up to go get some more towels to sop up the water on the floor. She walked over to get it...

She felt herself falling on the icy spot, and then hitting the ground...hard. She heard something snap, and then felt a searing pain along the length of her right leg. She screamed out in pain, but knew that by now the last student had long gone home, and in the breaks between her moans of pain she could have sworn she heard even Kyouya's limo drive away. She clutched her leg to her chest, but that just hurt more, and she knew that bending it would just make it even worse, so instead she just lay on the still freezing ground, hands in fists with her knuckles turning white and her fingernails digging into her skin so hard that she was surprised they weren't drawing blood. Haruhi had read about people breaking bones, but it had never actually happened to her, and she was surprised that the pain wasn't pulling her into unconsciousness. But, no, she just lay there, the pain racking her body and beads of sweat pouring down her forehead for an hour, then two, slowly trying to drag herself all the way across the room to her bag. Finally she got to it, and with a shout of pain managed to retrieve her cell phone. She opened it, and struggled to see the numbers on speed dial as she finally began to go under. Finally she just hit a random number and struggled to stay conscious as it rang.

"Yeah?" Haruhi heard the familiar deep voice of a taciturn third-year on the other end. "Haruhi?"

"M- Mori-sen- senpai... hel- l...help me... I... still here..." and that's when everything faded to black.

**Cliffhanger! I know, I know. Not for long, though. If you're reading this and the next chapter isn't up yet, come back in an hour or two, I'm working on it now. Please please please review! I think i might make Haruhi and Mori best friends in this fanfic, it might be interesting to hear him give her advice and care for her (not as a lover). He's one of my favorites! Love you all~!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! So, yeah, second chapter! What will happen? Read, my children! Read, enjoy, and review!**

Chapter 2

Mori looked at his cell phone in confusion and alarm as the startlingly weak, pained voice of Haruhi groaned, "M- Mori-sen- senpai... hel- l...help me... I... still here..." and then a thud and end tone that made Mori assume that she had dropped her phone. His mind raced. Haruhi had sounded like she was in extreme pain... she had said 'still here'..._Of course! _He realized. _She must have hurt herself cleaning up_ _today's theme!_ He quickly got up from doing his homework, ordered one of his butlers to bring the car around front, and hopped in, starting to feel extremely guilty. He had been looking at the room earlier today, thinking that clean up was going to be tedious, but he would have never imagined that Haruhi would have had to clean everything up by herself... sure, the twins had left early, and then Tamaki, and finally he and Mitsukuni had left, but Mori was sure that Kyouya would have stayed to make sure that no safety liabilities arose, such was the raven-haired boy's way of thinking...

Halfway to the school now, Mori whipped out his phone and informed Mitsukuni of the situation.

~ring ring~

"Takashi?" the boy's voice answered. "What's up?"

"Mitsukuni. You should probably get to music room three as fast as you can. Tell the others to come, too."

Hunny sensed something was wrong, and his voice took on a more serious tone. "Takashi?"

"I think Haruhi might be in troub-"

"Haru-chan?!"

"Yeah. I'm on my way there now... but, first, please call an ambulance to the music room."

Shocked silence. Finally, the short third-year recovered from shock. "Got it," he confirmed, and Mori hung up as the car reached the school. He sprinted out of the car (leaving the poor chauffeur wondering if he should stay, and what on Earth was going on) and to the abandoned music room in less than a minute. He burst through the doors still in his martial arts uniform, and ran over to a once again conscious Haruhi, with her right knee bent at a sickening angle and small drops of blood in a line from where she must have fallen over to her bag, where she was now, surrounded by water from the melted ice.

"Mori-senpai", she said weakly. "Help me, please..."

He knelt down and gently took her head in his lap, knowing that he shouldn't move her lower body for fear of making her leg worse. Still, she winced, and he saw that the few drops of blood were coming from her head.

"You hit your head, too, Haruhi."

"Did I?" She asked in weary surprise. She couldn't feel anything over the searing pain in her leg. She winced as another jolt of white-hot pain ran through her, and she started to feel her head throb, as if it was taunting her know that she knew it was hurt.

"Mori-senpai..."

"Yeah?"

"It hurts... a lot..." she couldn't stop the few more tears that slipped past her eyes, following the path that others had taken before them.

"Don't worry, Haruhi. It'll be okay. An ambulance is on its way, and the rest of the club is coming, too."

Haruhi's eyes widened too, and she asked pleadingly, "Not Kyouya, please..."

Mori looked surprised, and Haruhi explained. "We had a little... spat... earlier, I guess..."

Mori nodded in understanding. "So, that's why he didn't stay until you were done."

She nodded, and winced as her leg moved slightly. She moved her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming out in pain, but couldn't stifle a small moan of agony escaping her lips. Mori's face twisted in concern and sadness, and his eyes betrayed his worry. He knew there was nothing he could say to ease the pain, so he just kept her head in his lap, stroking her hair comfortingly and wiping away any other tears that escaped until the ambulance came.

The men tried to lift her onto the stretcher as gently as they could, but it still sent a searing pain through Haruhi's leg, and once again she had to stifle a scream. Mori tensed and gave the men a look of warning, and once they had Haruhi onto a stretcher and in the back of the ambulance, the tall third-year climbed swiftly in the back with them as they sped off to the nearest hospital. He called Hunny once again, and this time the boy picked up on the first ring.

"Takashi? I called the ambulance, and everyone else. I'm just about to call Kyouya and ask him if we can go to one of the hospitals owned by his family. How's Haruhi?"

"Broken leg, probably a concussion", Mori replied, repeating what the medics had told him, all the while holding Haruhi's hand even though she was cutting off his circulation. He gave her a reassuring look and continued. "Hey, Mitsukuni, change of plans. Meet us at the Ouran Public Hospital, and don't call Kyouya."

"What? Why?"

"I'll explain it when you get there," Mori said.

"Fine. I'll meet you there. Tell Haru-chan to stay strong!" and with that they hung up.

"Mitsukuni says-"

"I know", Haruhi laughed weakly as the painkillers started to drag her under. "I could hear him... from the other side of the phone..." Her eyes started to close, and her grip on Mori's hand started to weaken. Her eyes betrayed a flash of panic, and he kept holding her hand as it went limp, his facial expression and eyes making her feel reassured that everything would be all right. When she was asleep, though, it returned to a look of worry and even tenderness, and something Mori had never felt before.

It wasn't love, he knew that. He hadn't ever fallen in love before, but this was something a little more similar to what he felt for Mitsukuni, but with a bit of variation. He never really felt like he needed to _protect _Mitsukuni, the small boy being as good as he was at fending for himself. He did, however, feel he needed to watch over the boy (ex: making sure he brushes his teeth, so as not to get cavities). But, no, lo and behold, Mori felt this odd urge inside him... to not only watch over Haruhi, but protect her, as well. It wasn't a strong urge, but this girl, this strange girl that had waltzed into the room that one day, broken the vase, and changed all of their lives so drastically... this strange girl that saw through them all, and loved the best parts of them, Mori wanted to make sure that she was always all right.

The twins had their own little world, everyone knew that. And, in a way, the same could almost be said for Takashi and Mitsukuni. They had grown up together, with their odd alliance, not exactly set apart from the rest of the world, but not really knowing them, either. Until Tamaki had come along and made Mitsukuni realize that he should pursue what was in his heart, the two upperclassmen had never been able to really appreciate anyone else, because they never cared to look hard enough at the two to see them for who they were. Not just the master martial artists, or 'that odd pair', or the cousins or best friends- the individuals who wanted what they wanted, which wasn't always what they said it was. Everyone else had just seen what they had expected, and not what was there. The only two people who had ever broken past that barrier were Tamaki and Haruhi, and even the King hadn't ever really gotten as close as Haruhi unwittingly had, by being herself and seeing the best and teaching to two upperclassmen that they were, in a way, a lot like everything else in that there's more to meet the eye in both.

This person, this strange girl... she was different, in a good way. She mattered. She had to be protected, so she could shine.

A medic looked over at him. Usually, relatives or friends were very noisy at this part, asking what was wrong or could they fix it or demanding that they do something more, but this tall boy was being very silent. "What are you thinking?"

Takashi broke out of his trance and looked at the man with a ghost of a smile at an inside thought on his lips. "Nothing much."

"He'll be all right, you know", the medic reassured the third-year, gesturing to Haruhi.

Mori chuckled with a somewhat exhausted smile. "Yeah, I know. At least, once you figure out that she's a girl."

The medic looked with alarm at Haruhi, and Takashi chuckled weakly.

The sirens wailed all the way to the hospital.

**Okay! Sorry if it's kind of short, I really wanted to write more but I'm super tired and wanted to wrap up another chapter tonight because I said last chapter that I would. Please review! Until next time~**


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